On Dec. 2, the Political Science Association at Eastern Illinois hosted a debate between the four main political groups on the campus of EIU: Students for Socialism, College Democrats of EIU, College Republicans at EIU and Turning Point USA. 

The debate was successful. The four political parties discussed problems one would encounter in day-to-day life and the current political climate.  

The debate was similar to one that can be found in professional politics. However, a key piece of the discussion was missing: the fact-checkers.  

In the EIU debate, there was scientific research referenced by multiple speakers. Additionally, they used facts, whether true or not, that the average listener would not know off the top of their heads.  

Attendees go to these events to see multiple sides of arguments and be informed, but when no one is holding groups accountable to the truth, it can ruin the trustworthiness of the whole debate process.  

Students who view these debates could go home and look up facts that were said retroactively, but there are limitations when it comes to this.  

For the debate there is no video of it in its entirety, so if someone wanted to look up things that were discussed in the debate, they’d have to remember what the topic was bar for bar.  

A way that fact checkers would work in situations like this is that they would watch and record the debate. Then afterwards, they would go over the facts, studies and topics mentioned throughout the debate and make sure the context in which information was being used is factual and not being used to mislead the listeners.  

Then, a fact checker could produce a video that goes over the debate when there were untruths or half truths and provide more context to the arguments that are being presented. 

The need for facts is very important in today’s age, where misinformation runs rampant and services like ai make every piece of information consumed have a little bit of doubt along with it.  

Fact checkers ensure that the information being talked about in these debates, whether in small debates to presidential elections, is factual. Granted, during debate, speakers are likely not trying to misinform. When put on the spot, misinformation can happen on accident; memory has flaws. 

The implementation of fact checkers would greatly improve the experience for all watching the EIU debates. Students who don’t have the time or the willpower could now instead of checking the information themselves have a place where they could get the facts from a trusted source. 

This would also be very beneficial for the groups themselves. Many students in these groups intend to work in politics in the future. Having something like a fact checker keeps them accountable and will mirror the future. 

The process of getting a fact checker could be difficult. It is a major undertaking for whoever is taking up the process, and it needs to be made sure that the fact checker comes with an unbiased and experienced perspective.  

But the positives to including one would add to the debate experience as a whole and fully solidify these debates as being something serious. 

Debates are very fun to watch, both for the information and the funny lines you hear from some of the speakers—especially when put on the spot. But if there are more facts followed by “check me on that” rather than actual facts, it spoils the process. 

Emerson Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].